#4 Rashad Evans and The Blackzillians
You could make a case for a number of fighters whose careers were either temporarily or permanently de-railed by joining the recently disbanded Blackzillians.
I easily could have made similar arguments for Eddie Alvarez who went on to capture UFC gold after he left Boca Raton, but I think the fighter who had his career most affected by the Blackzillians was ironically its founder; Rashad Evans.
We all know about the fallout between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans and how he left Greg Jackson’s camp before their fight. What people might forget is that Rashad was coming off one of his best wins ever over Phil Davis with Greg Jackson in his corner.
He ended up setting up the Blackzillians and changing to coaches who were not prepared, right before having to fight the best MMA fighter of all time. No bueno. Rashad has never seemed the same after that loss and has been plagued both by injuries and lacklustre performances such as his loss to Rogerio Nogueira.
Recently with the breakup of the Blackzillians, Rashad has admitted to bouncing around his last few camps to avoid the “drama” at the gym. Rashad Evans is a warning for those fighters considering leaving a successful gym to start their own thing. It doesn’t always go the way you think it will.
